This week has been sports week. Here are a selection of photos of things that we have done this week. Our activities range from Yoga to benchball, dance to boccia and infant agility to orienteering. We had a great time.

Coding Carousel

This week we did some coding. We worked over a carousel and did some instructional coding on paper, some with the bebots and some on the computer. The children were really good at computer coding and could instruct the angry bird around the course. Great job year 2.

Marc Chagall Inspiration

This week has been Art Week, we have been very lucky to take part in a drama workshop based around the ideas of the story the Gruffalo. We also made clay mythical creatures like the ones from the artwork and painted them. (All photos taken by Aaron.)

Trip to Port Lympne

Today (15th June 2017) 2B went on their trip to Port Lympne. First we went on the African Safari and saw some giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, rhinos and gazelles. Then we walked through the dinosaur forest and searched for some massive dinosaurs. Then we saw the tigers and the wolves.

Dylan – ‘That’s a t-rex’

Fifi – ‘How come there are no fences when we go through in the truck?’

Jessie – ‘That’s a male because he has orange on his head.’

Hansel and Gretel

This week 05/05/16 we have been looking at the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. We watched a clip about the story and did some writing about the characters. We decided to think of some questions to ask the characters about the story, about what happened and why they did it. We then hot seated some children to pretend they were that character and why they chose to do what they did.

Jayden – (Pretending to be the witch) ‘They were just annoying me so I put them in the oven for my lunch. I was hungry’

2B's Marble Treat

On Friday 26th May 2B went on their marble treat to Pizza Express in Ramsgate. We had a wonderful time. We were each given a bit of dough which we had to stretch by poking it and passing it between our hands. After this we put it onto a pizza tray and were able to add passata (tomato sauce) and cheese on top. After this while our pizzas were cooking we learnt a little bit about some of the ingredients that people put on their pizzas.

Next we drove to Connaught Park as a little extra treat for trying so hard in our SATS. We ate our pizzas under a tree and then played in the park all afternoon.

2A Wildwood Trip

2A trip to Dover Museum

Book Day in 2A

New Interactive Whiteboards

Today (18.05.17) we received our new class whiteboard. The children were very excited to see that the board can move from upright to table top. They loved the cars maths game where they had to catch the car and park it in the corresponding bay using their multiplication knowledge.

All About Kenya

During topic this week (15th May) we were able to use our reading knowledge to help us find out information about Kenya in Africa. It worked like a little treasure hunt and we were able to learn loads of new things. We were also excellent at working in teams.

Nickalus – ‘Meat is expensive in Africa’

Caitlyn – ‘Some of the huts are made from houses’

Aaron – ‘They say Jambo instead of Hello!’

Terry – ‘They learn maths, reading and writing, just like us’

Orientation Afternoon

On Friday (28.04.17) we had our orientation. It was lovely to see so many parents in to see our new classroom and also to have lots of room for them to work with their children. We made Savannah scenes for topic and the children were able to create the animals and a lovely watercolour wash background.

Bug Hunting

Today (26th April) we went looking for bugs in their natural habitats. We found lots of different creatures including worms, snails and even a dragon fly but we were very careful how we handled these creatures. When we went back indoors we drew and labelled some of these insects.

Cricket Beginners

Today in PE (Monday 25th) we started looking at how to play cricket. A man called Callum came in to teach us how to catch and how to stop the ball. We now know that we have to get down on one knee, and twist our bodies to the side to stop the ball and hold out hands wide and squeeze our fingers together to catch the ball.

Our New Classroom!

This week (18th April) has been our first week in our new classroom. Some children took some photos of their favourite things in our new classroom.

Ivy ‘I like the big new cupboard because its gigantic’

Harrison ‘I like the bigger windows so we can see more’

Terry ‘I like the shape of the new tables’

Denii ‘I like the Born to be Wild board’

Marissa ‘I like our new Topics’

Hunt For The Treasure!

On Friday 18th March, 2W had their Marble Treat. They chose to play party games so we had a treasure hunt. The children had to decode a message using their orienteering skills. The message said ‘Some of the treasure is hidden above the sink and some is in the office freezer’. The children were very excited to find the treasure which was in a lovely shiny treasure box. Their other prize was found by Harrison and Courtney who went with Miss Bacmeister to the office to find some lovely ice poles.

‘It’s a word treasure map’ Terry

‘It is going to tell us where the treasure is!’ Aaron

'Look, it’s up there above the sink!’ Elouise

Dover Museum Trip

On Thursday 17th March Year 2 went to Dover Museum in search of pirates. We learnt lots of interesting things about pirates like they didn’t have knives and forks and also that their cups were make of leather and had little holes in where it was sewn together so the water came out! We also made pirates out of clay which later in the week we are going to paint and bring home.

‘That pot is made out of leather’ Jessica.

‘I think they cook with a tray, a metal one like my mum uses to cook chips in the oven’ Alice.

‘That’s a pirates hat, and an eye patch’ Ivy.

‘That [machine] is for making clothes in their house’ Dylan.

The Festival Of Holi

This week in RE (13.03.2017) we have been looking at the festival of Holi. We learnt that the legend says that Holika who was immune to fire tried to lure Prahlad into the fire. Holika was using her powers for evil and the fire hurt her instead of Prahlad. We found out that to celebrate the festival Holi Hindus have a bonfire and the following day have a festival where they throw coloured powdered paint and water. We created some Holi style paintings using splatter paint.

Trying New Fruits

This week (10.03.17) we have been trying new fruits linked to our Topic of Explorers. We cut and peeled some different fruits that Christopher Columbus brought over when he returned from his voyages. We tried pineapple, coconut, mango, red and pink grapefruit and oranges. We were much better at using the knives this time and we had no slips. Well done Year 2.

Football Skills

Throughout Term 4, Year 2 are focussing on developing their football skills during PE. Today (8.3.17), Year 2 started to practised their tackling skills and improved their team work skills by working in small teams. Take a look at how they got on.

Tricky Times Tables

This week (2nd week of Term 4) we have been looking at division of 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. Year 2 were absolutely amazing at their division and were able to divide by each of these. We drew faces for the amount of people we needed to divide by and then drew kisses (x) for the amount we needed to share between those people. We were so good at this that some of us even moved on to divide with remainders!

Origami Boats

Today 24th February we made origami boats linking to our Explorers topic in Topic. Year 2 tried extremely hard to do the folding and most only needed help with the very last step which was the most tricky. We then decorated our own boats.

Shiver Me Timbers!

Year Two are all set to go exploring. As a pirate you will need to be good at counting treasure and repairing cannons. You will be reading a range of books about pirates and writing a collection of pirate style stories, diaries and poems. Your feet will remain on board ship whilst you learn about Christopher Columbus and his voyages to the New World. Then we will board a different ‘ship’ and investigate and compare the explorations of the astronaut Neil Armstrong.

2U Animal Experience

Coding Games

Today 10th February we tried a new game called Plickers. We all have a different code on a piece of paper which has ABCD on each side of the code. We the choose an answer off of the board which is either ABC or D and then when Miss Bacmeister takes a photo all of the answers go onto the board anomalously. We loved seeing our name being ticked on the board to show that our answers had been read.

Australian Hat Making

On the 26th January we made Australian style hats.

Maddison said ‘We had to have two pieces of papers and we has to cut a one piece of a paper a circle and the other had to have snips. Then we had to fold them and then we had to glue to folded bits on to the hats. Then we made little holes in them to put string up.’

Our Angry Faces

As part of their Learning for Life, today (25.1.17) Year 2W investigated what anger looks like and discussed that sometimes anger builds up and that it can overwhelm feelings. They were set the task of taking an aspect of anger and creating a picture to illustrate it. They had three questions to consider:

‘If you are angry, you might shout or talk in a low voice’ – Jessica and Mason.

Have a look at the results below.

Different Roles Within The Church

The focus of today’s (25.1.17) RE lesson was to describe the different roles played by members of the church. Year 2W discussed the different roles played by the members of the church. They then listened to a description of a job and decided as a class which person it belongs to. For their independent activity each child annotated their pictures of people who worked at a church and compared them to the roles of people that work in school.

‘I enjoyed drawing my pictures of people that work in the church and school.’ – Lydia

‘It was fun! I like activities where you learn but you don’t have to do lots of writing.’ - Jayden

Our Local Church Visit

As part of their RE topic this term, Year 2 visited their local church on 20th January. Guided by the Vicar, they found out all about baptisms and weddings. Here is what some of the children thought:

‘It was really fun going to the church. I enjoyed looking around everything and asking questions.’ – Aaron.

‘The windows in the church were so pretty. I loved all the different coloured glass.’ – Elouise.

‘I enjoyed listening to the bell that they ring before they start a service.’ – Dylan.

‘It was really interesting looking at all the things that the vicar used during a baptism.’ – Jessica.

‘The vicar showed us his golden robes, they were so detailed and pretty.’ – Lydia.

‘I didn’t realise how old the organ was.’ – Nickalus.

Anti-bullying Week

‘We have learnt the difference between being rude or mean and bullying. If it is a one-off then that is being rude but if you keep doing horrible things to the same persons over and over again then that is bullying’– Byron (12/01/17)

Finding Australia

This week we have been learning about Australia. On Monday 9th January, we located Australia on the world map. On Thursday 12th January, we sketched an Australian landscape and tried our best to draw with perspective.

‘I enjoyed working with my friends to locate the seven continents on the world map.’ – Jessica.

Australia

Ever wondered what time it is in Australia? Not to worry Year 2 will be finding the answer. There’s so much that’s awesome about Australia that it’s hard to fit in to a term. We think we’ve managed to do it on this 32-day trip around the coast where you’ll discover and make the Coral Reefs, cork protected sun hats and a didgeridoo. We pack in plenty of authentic Aussie experiences, from spotting tons of native wildlife to taking tours with Aboriginal guides and learning about their legends, music and art as well as indulging in the BBQ during Australia day on the 27th January. You’ll explore islands with Katie Morag and compare Britain with Australia. The best? Oh, yes.

Making a Book

This week, (18th November) Year 2 tried to use tools safely to make a pull out book. The children were extremely successful in using their tools safely and could carry and store them safely.The children were all able to use the example and extend their ideas further to make a pull out book. In making their books, as I’m sure that you could see when they brought them home, they were very proud of their work. They were also very good at helping their peers who found it more difficulty to get the pulley to work. Super teamwork Year 2.

Marshal said ‘Look I’ve hidden Pudsey, here he is with his hand out and there he is underneath’

Jessica AK said ‘I’ve made a flap in mine so I can see the pull out bit before it comes out’

Ala said ‘Look Miss, I made it, Ivy helped me!’

2U News 18.11.16

Christmas Music

This week (14th November) in music we tried to play some musical instruments tunefully to music. Year 2 had a really good try at using the instruments and trying to play them in beat with some well-known Christmas songs such as Jingle-Bells (requested by Nicklaus) and 12 Days of Christmas (requested by Caitlyn). Some of these songs were tricky because they were soft and others were loud.

Making Our Own Skeletons

On Friday 11th November we combined the work that we were doing in DT with the work we were doing in English. The children all made a setting and a skeleton character as part of their DT work and then acted out a story with the characters for English. The only thing that we had to remember in our acting was to use noun phrases (an adjective and a noun, i.e. small dog) as part of our English work on noun phrases. The children found this a little tricky as they were so excited to act out with their skeletons. Later we wrote about this and the children could include the noun phrases. Great job.

St Francis of Assisi

This week (4th November) we learned about St Francis of Assisi. He looked at him briefly for our in school assembly. He was the patron saint for ecologists (he loved nature and animals). In his honour we made origami animals. We absolutely loved making these and the children were very eager to take them home with them!

2U News 4.11.16

Tricky Place Value

On the week beginning 3rd November we started looking at place value and the value of each number within a number. At first we found this quite tricky but using the numicon we were able to visualise the amount of tens and ones that were in each number (as you can see in the photos). By the end of the week we were able to do this without the numicon and with only the number for support. Great effort Year 2!

2U Learn to Throw.

2U had a fantastic time learning to improve their throwing techniques in a session run by Premier Sport.

Children's explanations to follow.

Lilee evades all the competition

Year 2 will be focussing on their ability to change direction quickly again in Term 2. Will Lilee and Lloyd still be top?

A Head Teachers Award!

Today (21.10.16) we wrote a poem about our own Safari animal. Some children chose to write about a made up animal and produced some beautiful pieces of writing. Some of the creatures loved to eat burgers and candy floss, others lived in the deep, dark forest or in a muddy lake. Jessica and Marshal went to see Mrs Fotheringham with their work who was very impressed with their writing and gave them a Head Teachers Award. Well done Year 2.

Dover Castle Visit

On the 18th October we were very excited to go to Dover Castle regarding our Castles Topic Work. We had a look at all of the different parts of the Castle including the moat, the kitchens, the throne room and the feast hall. We also went for a little tour of the medieval castles and found some cannons and lots of arrow slits down there. Some children even went onto the roof and looked for their houses and the school, we even were able to spot the beach! Year 2 found this trip to be very beneficial to their learning.

2U

2W

Our Tesco Trip

On Monday 17th October, we went to Tesco on a trip to explore the shop in conjunction with our DT project Super Soup. First we went around the fruit and vegetables isle and found lots of different colours! Then we looked at the different types of soup – fresh or canned. Then we learnt all about varied types of fish and were even allowed to touch a fish from the counter. Then we walked through into the freezer which was -16C. The children were very excited to try some of the healthy snacks that we tried at the end including sunflower seeds and prunes.

2U

2W

Orientation Afternoon

On the 14th October we were very lucky to have our parents come into school for our orientation. With our

parents help we made containers for our Super Soup and made them into 3D boxes. Some of the children did excellent designs with families enjoying their soup. Thank you to all of the parents involved in our Orientation.

The Two Builders

On the 13th of October in RE we looked at the parable of The Two Builders (Matthew 7:24-27). To explore the story further we built our own homes (out of Lego) and looked at what happened when we wobbled them on a table or when we wobbled them in a box of multi-link cubes. We found that the more solid the foundation the better the house stood up. Jesus meant in his parable, that if we have a good foundation too in our morals then we would be more supported if anything bad happens to or around us. The children really enjoyed this parable and building the Lego house to test.

Using < and > in Maths

On Tuesday 18th October Year 2 turned the greater than and less than symbols into crocodiles.

Ethan "we found the crocodiles like to eat the biggest number"

Shannon "we found the crocodiles turned their backs on the smaller numbers"

How To Run Properly

In PE this week (28.09.16) we have been learning how to run properly. We tried running with our arms stuck to our side and up in the air but decided that swinging by our sides was the best. We then tried running sideways and backwards then decided that forwards was best. After that we tried to run looking backwards or sideways but decided that forwards was best. Last we tried to run using the relay batons and had to pass these to the other children in our team.

2U Jamie-Leigh shows how it is done

Jamie-Leigh demonstartes a perfect running style.

Ryan is keeping his eyes looking ahead.

Peeling Potatoes

On the 22nd September, we tried to use many different skills to be able to peel potatoes. We washed, peeled, grated and chopped the potatoes. We were mostly successful and only had a few minor slips! After we had a chance to eat the potatoes that we had cut into chips. They were yummy!

Writing Our Own Instructions

Today (Friday 16th September) we have been looking at writing instructions to make a recipe or toy. We have been using our imperative (bossy) verbs and remembered our commas from last week. We also remembered to have capital letters and full stops. This has been a bit tricky and on Friday we practiced our writing and with adult support made edits, that help us improve our writing.

Counting with Numicon

This week (6th September) we have been looking at numicon and beginning to learn which shape is each number. The children have been excellent at this. We have also been comparing numicon, for example we now know that a ten tile and three ones is the same as a ten tile and a three tile.

Terry- "The red one is five and the yellow one is three and I know them all!"

Aaron- "We looked at it, this 10 and these one, two, three are the same as this ten and that three. We know they are the same, they are 13."

Nickalus-Reef- "I like the numicon we can play with it."

What we are going to learn...

Year 2 will start the academic year investigating the emergence and evolution of the British Castle. Starting with the Bayeux Tapestry they will discover the history of the Normans and how their building expertise led to the great stone structures we see today. Whilst reading the story ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’ they will unearth what can be grown in an allotment and use the vegetables grown to make a variety of delicious soups. Both Science and DT will help the children to ensure that their soups are healthy and prepared hygienically. In maths they will enjoy the magic of number, the excitement of shape and the importance of measurement.